Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio self-isolating ahead of imminent filming restart

Series five was a huge ratings hit for BBC One, attracting more than 13 million viewers, so naturally the upcoming follow-up is one of the broadcaster's most anticipated projects.

Fans will be pleased to hear that progress towards new episodes is once again being made, as creator Jed Mercurio has confirmed he is flying out to Belfast in preparation.

In a tweet, Mercurio said: "So I'm on a British Airways flight to Belfast to self-isolate before resuming filming of Line of Duty and the two passengers in the row behind aren't wearing masks and the flight attendant won't challenge them. If we have to shut down again, you know who to blame."

Mercurio will have to isolate for two weeks upon arrival in Belfast, which suggests that Line of Duty could return to filming around mid-September.

There's plenty of work still to do on series six, as filming was halted relatively early into production, but star Martin Compston has previously said there would be "no point coming back if we were going to compromise quality."

However, he did suggest that certain scenes written for indoor settings could be moved outdoor, in order to alleviate some of the risk of infection.

It is hoped that the series will be able to wrap before Christmas, with a probable air date sometime in 2021, but the BBC has not set any confirmed air date amid the unpredictability of the pandemic.

The initial shutdown occurred in March, as coronavirus began sweeping across the UK and the nation went into an imposed lockdown to slow the spread.

Line of Duty is available to stream on BBC iPlayer and Netflix. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our guide to the best TV series on Netflix and best movies on Netflix, or visit our TV Guide.